Work-a Journal of Prevention Assessment & Rehabilitation, May 3, 2022
Background: This article describes the model components of a study that applied a two-phased appr... more Background: This article describes the model components of a study that applied a two-phased approach towards the development of an occupational resilience model. OBJECTIVE: The occupational therapy practice model that is proposed seeks to facilitate high school re-entry and school participation post traumatic brain injury (TBI). The study’s first phase generated results on participants’ experiences of high school re-entry and school participation post TBI. These findings contributed to the second phase of developing a practice model to improve upon school transition practice for learners post TBI. METHODS: The study’s first phase comprised a qualitative multi-case study of eight cases. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews, participant and contextual observation, and document analysis. Data analysis was performed via an inductive process combined with cross-case synthesis. Phase 2 employed theory generation, suggesting an occupational therapy practice model for facilitating high school participation post TBI. RESULTS: Participant responses revealed, following the onset of the TBI, a need for adolescents to display resilience in order to re-participate in school. This was displayed by adolescents adapting through drawing upon personal and environmental resources as well as preparing for and engaging in occupation. CONCLUSION: A deeper understanding of the experiences of key role players involved in the school transition post TBI, combined with theory generation, formed the basis of developing the proposed model of occupational resilience. Occupational resilience, through a series of resilience-promoting tasks, is offered as a mechanism to increase learners’ capacity to adapt to occupational challenges and meaningfully participate in school post TBI.
Please help us populate SUNScholar with the post print version of this article. It can be e-maile... more Please help us populate SUNScholar with the post print version of this article. It can be e-mailed to: scholar@sun.ac.zaAlgemeenSentrum vir Studentevoorligting en ??ontwikkeling (SSVO
his article presents the findings of an interpretive study on how exemplary teachers navigate the... more his article presents the findings of an interpretive study on how exemplary teachers navigate their learning journeys when developing inclusive learning communities. We chose socio-cultural theory as a framework for understanding how the participating teachers learn from ...
Individuals with disabilities continue to experience exclusion from mainstream contexts amid ster... more Individuals with disabilities continue to experience exclusion from mainstream contexts amid stereotypical constructions of disability as an inferior status. To address these inequities, we contend that the ramifications for both theory and praxis in disability research rests heavily on the way in which disability is theorized. In this article, we draw on the findings of a narrative inquiry as a context to frame an alternative theoretical model for disability research at both individual and social levels. We propose the efficacy of an integrated theoretical approach using the vehicle of narrative inquiry to present alternative stories by individuals with disabilities themselves. In alignment with a poststructuralist epistemology, we propose the addition of Lacanian psychoanalysis to address the construct of internalized oppression felt at an individual psychological level. We conclude that the epistemological and ontological lens through which research is conceptualized has the power either to subjugate or to emancipate individual experience.
Any answer to the question “What is professional development (PD) for inclusive education (IE)?” ... more Any answer to the question “What is professional development (PD) for inclusive education (IE)?” needs to be based on a deep understanding of the nature of IE. Taking fully into account its multileveled nature, encompassing inclusive practice, policy, advocacy, and philosophy, IE appears as a “glocal” phenomenon that is affected by institutions (e.g., accountability, new public management, and neoliberalism) with which it can resonate or collide, resulting in tensions within the educational field. These tensions complicate the endeavors of teachers to orient themselves and their actions because different institutions conceptualize teaching and the role of teachers differently, demanding different and sometimes conflicting things from them. Further, teachers also need to give meaning to perceived similarities, differences, and conflicts between these professionalisms and elements of their own professional identity. This results in specific concerns for teachers and imposes challenges for teachers’ agency. PD based on this understanding of IE refers to creating and exploiting spaces where the different actors involved address the complexities of, and coconstruct, a teaching profession that is inclusive. This conceptualization implies formal and informal, social and local, embedded, open-ended practices that can strengthen teacher agency. To do this, it needs to recognize the teacher as being at the center of PD. These spaces are experimental zones for the exertion of agency, incorporating transformative ideals which can involve developing a different behavior repertoire, changing the immediate professional context, or addressing contradictory institutions. As such, PD is not regarded as the prerequisite for IE, but as its consequence.
Inclusive education is based on a value and belief system that invites and celebrates diversity a... more Inclusive education is based on a value and belief system that invites and celebrates diversity arising from race, nationality, class, gender, language, socio-economic background, cultural origin or ability. It is essentially about diverity, human rights and social justice. Inclusion ...
Please help us populate SUNScholar with the post print version of this article. It can be e-maile... more Please help us populate SUNScholar with the post print version of this article. It can be e-mailed to: scholar@sun.ac.zaOpvoedkundeOpvoedkundige Sielkund
Parent participation is considered to be a vital compo-nent in the education of students with dis... more Parent participation is considered to be a vital compo-nent in the education of students with disabilities. Parents ’ roles in pivotal changes in special education—specifically, inclusion—are acknowledged, and their rights are protected in special educa-tion law. However, their perspectives are not always understood or considered in the decision-making process. In this study, parents of children with disabilities in South Africa and in a midwestern state of the United States participated in focus group discussions re-garding inclusive education. The results indicated that parent perceptions, experiences, and barriers to effective family–school partnerships and parent advocacy were remarkably similar on the two continents. Implications and recommendations for preservice teacher education are discussed. THE VOICES OF PARENTS AND THEIR INVOLVEMENT IN the education of their children have been a positive force in
CITATION: Du Toit, S. & Swart, E. 2018. Ouers van kinders in hulle middelkinderjare met aandagtek... more CITATION: Du Toit, S. & Swart, E. 2018. Ouers van kinders in hulle middelkinderjare met aandagtekort- en hiperaktiwiteitsversteuring se belewing : ’n veerkragtigheidsperspektief. LitNet Akademies, 15(2):397-435.
Students who are hard of hearing (HOH) are being granted access to university increasingly, yet t... more Students who are hard of hearing (HOH) are being granted access to university increasingly, yet they remain significantly under-represented and under-supported, often resulting in poor academic outcomes with elevated levels of attrition. This situation places a growing obligation on universities to improve the support provided to these students in order to have a positive influence on their overall academic experience and eventual economic independence. This trend is relevant to South Africa, where Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are accepting and registering students with a hearing loss but are not providing adequate academic support and inclusive curricula. Furthermore, in South Africa, almost no research has been conducted concerning students who are HOH in higher education regarding their teaching and learning needs or the coping strategies which they use to survive academically. However, what is known is that, of those HOH students who do enter higher education, many do no...
Work-a Journal of Prevention Assessment & Rehabilitation, May 3, 2022
Background: This article describes the model components of a study that applied a two-phased appr... more Background: This article describes the model components of a study that applied a two-phased approach towards the development of an occupational resilience model. OBJECTIVE: The occupational therapy practice model that is proposed seeks to facilitate high school re-entry and school participation post traumatic brain injury (TBI). The study’s first phase generated results on participants’ experiences of high school re-entry and school participation post TBI. These findings contributed to the second phase of developing a practice model to improve upon school transition practice for learners post TBI. METHODS: The study’s first phase comprised a qualitative multi-case study of eight cases. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews, participant and contextual observation, and document analysis. Data analysis was performed via an inductive process combined with cross-case synthesis. Phase 2 employed theory generation, suggesting an occupational therapy practice model for facilitating high school participation post TBI. RESULTS: Participant responses revealed, following the onset of the TBI, a need for adolescents to display resilience in order to re-participate in school. This was displayed by adolescents adapting through drawing upon personal and environmental resources as well as preparing for and engaging in occupation. CONCLUSION: A deeper understanding of the experiences of key role players involved in the school transition post TBI, combined with theory generation, formed the basis of developing the proposed model of occupational resilience. Occupational resilience, through a series of resilience-promoting tasks, is offered as a mechanism to increase learners’ capacity to adapt to occupational challenges and meaningfully participate in school post TBI.
Please help us populate SUNScholar with the post print version of this article. It can be e-maile... more Please help us populate SUNScholar with the post print version of this article. It can be e-mailed to: scholar@sun.ac.zaAlgemeenSentrum vir Studentevoorligting en ??ontwikkeling (SSVO
his article presents the findings of an interpretive study on how exemplary teachers navigate the... more his article presents the findings of an interpretive study on how exemplary teachers navigate their learning journeys when developing inclusive learning communities. We chose socio-cultural theory as a framework for understanding how the participating teachers learn from ...
Individuals with disabilities continue to experience exclusion from mainstream contexts amid ster... more Individuals with disabilities continue to experience exclusion from mainstream contexts amid stereotypical constructions of disability as an inferior status. To address these inequities, we contend that the ramifications for both theory and praxis in disability research rests heavily on the way in which disability is theorized. In this article, we draw on the findings of a narrative inquiry as a context to frame an alternative theoretical model for disability research at both individual and social levels. We propose the efficacy of an integrated theoretical approach using the vehicle of narrative inquiry to present alternative stories by individuals with disabilities themselves. In alignment with a poststructuralist epistemology, we propose the addition of Lacanian psychoanalysis to address the construct of internalized oppression felt at an individual psychological level. We conclude that the epistemological and ontological lens through which research is conceptualized has the power either to subjugate or to emancipate individual experience.
Any answer to the question “What is professional development (PD) for inclusive education (IE)?” ... more Any answer to the question “What is professional development (PD) for inclusive education (IE)?” needs to be based on a deep understanding of the nature of IE. Taking fully into account its multileveled nature, encompassing inclusive practice, policy, advocacy, and philosophy, IE appears as a “glocal” phenomenon that is affected by institutions (e.g., accountability, new public management, and neoliberalism) with which it can resonate or collide, resulting in tensions within the educational field. These tensions complicate the endeavors of teachers to orient themselves and their actions because different institutions conceptualize teaching and the role of teachers differently, demanding different and sometimes conflicting things from them. Further, teachers also need to give meaning to perceived similarities, differences, and conflicts between these professionalisms and elements of their own professional identity. This results in specific concerns for teachers and imposes challenges for teachers’ agency. PD based on this understanding of IE refers to creating and exploiting spaces where the different actors involved address the complexities of, and coconstruct, a teaching profession that is inclusive. This conceptualization implies formal and informal, social and local, embedded, open-ended practices that can strengthen teacher agency. To do this, it needs to recognize the teacher as being at the center of PD. These spaces are experimental zones for the exertion of agency, incorporating transformative ideals which can involve developing a different behavior repertoire, changing the immediate professional context, or addressing contradictory institutions. As such, PD is not regarded as the prerequisite for IE, but as its consequence.
Inclusive education is based on a value and belief system that invites and celebrates diversity a... more Inclusive education is based on a value and belief system that invites and celebrates diversity arising from race, nationality, class, gender, language, socio-economic background, cultural origin or ability. It is essentially about diverity, human rights and social justice. Inclusion ...
Please help us populate SUNScholar with the post print version of this article. It can be e-maile... more Please help us populate SUNScholar with the post print version of this article. It can be e-mailed to: scholar@sun.ac.zaOpvoedkundeOpvoedkundige Sielkund
Parent participation is considered to be a vital compo-nent in the education of students with dis... more Parent participation is considered to be a vital compo-nent in the education of students with disabilities. Parents ’ roles in pivotal changes in special education—specifically, inclusion—are acknowledged, and their rights are protected in special educa-tion law. However, their perspectives are not always understood or considered in the decision-making process. In this study, parents of children with disabilities in South Africa and in a midwestern state of the United States participated in focus group discussions re-garding inclusive education. The results indicated that parent perceptions, experiences, and barriers to effective family–school partnerships and parent advocacy were remarkably similar on the two continents. Implications and recommendations for preservice teacher education are discussed. THE VOICES OF PARENTS AND THEIR INVOLVEMENT IN the education of their children have been a positive force in
CITATION: Du Toit, S. & Swart, E. 2018. Ouers van kinders in hulle middelkinderjare met aandagtek... more CITATION: Du Toit, S. & Swart, E. 2018. Ouers van kinders in hulle middelkinderjare met aandagtekort- en hiperaktiwiteitsversteuring se belewing : ’n veerkragtigheidsperspektief. LitNet Akademies, 15(2):397-435.
Students who are hard of hearing (HOH) are being granted access to university increasingly, yet t... more Students who are hard of hearing (HOH) are being granted access to university increasingly, yet they remain significantly under-represented and under-supported, often resulting in poor academic outcomes with elevated levels of attrition. This situation places a growing obligation on universities to improve the support provided to these students in order to have a positive influence on their overall academic experience and eventual economic independence. This trend is relevant to South Africa, where Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are accepting and registering students with a hearing loss but are not providing adequate academic support and inclusive curricula. Furthermore, in South Africa, almost no research has been conducted concerning students who are HOH in higher education regarding their teaching and learning needs or the coping strategies which they use to survive academically. However, what is known is that, of those HOH students who do enter higher education, many do no...
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